Emmett Mack
Emmett S. Mack 'is a character in the TACITUS saga. He is considered a complete mystery by most people, though this is generally because he does not up about his past much. Biography Early life Not much is known about Emmett's early life. However, in the story The Mack Coalition, it was revealed that his father Terrence was killed in the November 2015 Paris Attacks perpetrated by the Islamic State of New Palestine. The incident left him traumatized, but he trusted the government of France that they would bring the perpetrators of the attacks to justice. Later, it was also revealed that he was bullied in school following the death of his father. However, Emmett was known to deal with bullies in a surprising way: by treating their insults like jokes and laughing at their verbal abuse. However, one infamous incident sent him over the edge: in the spring of 2015, his senior year of high school, Emmett faced a rather infamous bully and Neo-Nazi skinhead named Joe J. Pena, nicknamed "the Shed", who was known to belittle and verbally slander people he perceived to be "weaker" than him. He especially hated Emmett simply because he looked like a "scrawny little guy" who had a big mouth and that he was raised in a rough environment (due to his parents living in a high crime area), as opposed to Joe, who was raised in a "rich environment". One day in the spring of 2015, the Shed confronted Emmett and his friends after school, claiming that he was an "embarrassment" to his father Terrence, whom he believed went to Paris because he hated his son. He then dared Emmett to tell him a joke and make him laugh, to which Emmett replied, "Is life a joke to you?" Emmett, not wanting to escalate the situation, then attempted to walk away, before being cornered by one of Joe's cronies. To that end, Emmett went on an angry, impassioned rant about how everyone is picking on him, yet he sees it as a joke because (in his eyes), bullying is a joke, then proceeded to call himself a "self-righteous liberal douchebag" who finds himself so engrossed in Left-wing politics, he finds himself "spinning in circles." He then finished by saying to Joe's face, "INSTEAD OF KILLING MYSELF, I SHOULD KILL ALL OF YOU!" Joe, now wanting blood, ordered his buddies to attack Emmett, only to be destroyed by Emmett's mixed martial arts skills. Shocked, outraged, and wanting blood, Joe proceeded to assault Emmett with the intention of beating him to a bloody pulp. Emmett, being more trained (due to his father teaching him MMA), punched him in the liver in the ensuing brawl, which was videotaped by many of his peers and soon uploaded to YouTube. Later that day, Emmett realized that what he'd done was a "severe moral infraction" and that the rage and frustration of being unable to prevent his father's death was corrupting him, and felt burdened with more guilt than he could personally handle. His guilt-trip worsened when he learned that the Joe had died in the hospital because Emmett had punched his liver so hard it ruptured, causing him to die of internal bleeding. Following this revelation, he admitted his deed to the police, though was able to prove that his actions were out of self-defense, with his friends using the video footage of the brawl as evidence to corroborate the story. Because of this, Emmett was not charged with homicide. However, his guilt continued to haunt him, so much so that he moved out of his parents' place after graduating high school, much to the surprise and horror of his maternal twin Diane Mack. Hadford Homicides Emmett played a huge role in solving the Hadford Homicides in 2016. He specifically contributed to exposing the culprits behind the murders as CIA agents that were part of Operation Blackfish. Later on, it is revealed that Emmett is the maternal twin brother of Diane Mack. Demeanor and personality Emmett is generally a nice guy, though sometimes he finds himself in situations where he must play the "bad cop" in order to resolve a conflict. As a child, he learned to turn his fear into aggression. He claims to have learned this "as a child", but he does not expound any further than that. Emmett also has a primal sense of justice. He often blames criminals' own arrogant and reckless actions for their downfall. To put it another way, "If only he didn't commit (insert crime here), he would've lived a full life." Skills and abilties Emmett is quite proficient in hand-to-hand combat, though his mysterious past makes it rather impossible to pinpoint exactly where he got his skills from. He usually passes everything off under the phrase, "I'm just a black belt in MMA." He is quite skilled in Keysi Fighting Method, Capoeria, Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Capoeira, and Vale Tudo. Emmett also has an internal clock, which he uses to time his strikes correctly during a combat situation. He is also very observant, able to pick out minute details that other people usually miss. This ability of his has baffled people for quite some time, but once again, like many other aspects of his life, his unwillingness to disclose the source of such knowledge make pinpointing the source of his knowledge rather impossible. Habits and beliefs Emmett loves heavy metal. He seems to enjoy music that sounds aggressive, believing that they get him pumped up for fights. In terms of his outlook on the human race, Emmett believes humanity is capable of doing good, though he attributes the evils people do in the world as a sort of "bad habit": people seem to have a compulsive desire to do evil, even though they aim to do good in the world. The moral wrongs that people do in the world, in Emmett's eyes, are somewhat "normal." Emmett has also been known to have a history hooking up with multiple girls and young women and being in platonic relationships . In The Mack Coalition, when Jill Powell asked him how he has that much self-control, he merely blames it on human willpower, which "works wonders." It is later revealed that both his maternal twin Diane and himself have inherited a "platonic gene" from their parents, given that Diane Mack also had a history of having platonic relationships with men. Emmett does not espouse any religious beliefs, though he has read works from major famous philosophers. He agrees with most religions that humanity is morally broken (though he refers to such a concept as a "glitch in the moral compass" that leads to evil deeds). He does not see Christianity as the ultimate source of truth, but treats it as "just another religion." Emmett sees all religions and faiths as nothing more than mere theories, that the various teachings from the various religious holy texts are nothing more than blind guesses made by fallible, finite human beings about an infinite and infallible God's nature based on what they've seen in history and in nature. In regards to salvation from one's own morally broken state, he sees both salvation by works and salvation by grace through faith as problematic. Salvation by works is impossible, because people cannot be morally perfect on their own. However, salvation by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) also seems problematic in Emmett's eyes because he is convinced that salvation by grace through faith is a form of bribery, that Jesus is using the offer of eternity with God to bribe people into following Him and being saved. He cites Ephesians 2:8-9, John 3:16, and John 14:6 as proof of this accusation. To him, such verses indicate that Jesus is using Himself to bribe other people into coming into the Kingdom of God, making Himself, as well as the Father, out to be mere "salesmen", not divine holy beings like they claimed thesmelves to be. He therefore concludes that salvation is downright impossible from the very beginning and that all humans will "die corrupted" regardless of what "salvation path" they choose, and that the idea of a holy higher power offering Himself as a means of saving morally broken people is a form of belittling God. Physical appearance Emmett is described as a guy "built like an athlete", standing at a height of 5'10" and weighing 156 lbs. He also has brown hair and blue eyes. Emmett also has various scars on his body, inflicted during previous fights throughout his life. Fighting style "''You use a scalpel. I prefer a hammer." - Emmett discussing his fighting style. Emmett has a rather unorthodox fighting style. He frequently takes cues from action movies to develop his fighting habits. In The Mack Coalition, it is revealed that he took MMA from his time in underground fight rings. In an actual combat situation, he warms up by flexing his arms while punching the air. He then tends to throw a right hook to the face and a jab to a sensitive part of the body (he usually strikes the solar plexus). This is mainly designed to incapacitate and/or surprise the opponent. Emmett believes the key to this opening move is to ensure the element of surprise, or else it won't work. A common way Emmett performs this maneuver is to shout at the opponent before landing his introductory blows. In addition, as explained above, he uses techniques from various martial arts too, like Capoeria, Krav Maga, Systema, and Keysi fighting method. One devastating move Emmett has used at least once is the devastating liver punch. When used correctly, this move can actually kill an opponent. The first use of the liver punch was during a fight against a Blackfish agent in The Mack Coalition, during which Emmett surprises the agent during their fistfight with a sudden, but devastating punch to the liver. the force of Emmett's punch causing the liver to rupture, leading to the agent dying of internal bleeding. Trivia *He is the first character to not have a background fully revealed (at least, not right away). *He is also the first major non-military character to personally eliminate a major enemy *The way Emmett preps himself for hand-to-hand combat (by hammer-fisting the air) is similar to a fight clip from the trailer for Mission: Impossible: Fallout (see GIF). Gallery Emmett.jpg Emmett shirtless.jpg Emmett S. Mack, hero.png Full body shot of Emmett Mack.png Closeup of Emmett S. Mack.png Emmett S. Mack, adventurer.png Meet Emmett Mack.png Emmett S. Mack armed.png Emmett S. Mack in action.png Quotes "A hundred and thirty people died that fateful day on November 13 of last year, including my father! I decided not to exact retribution, because I had good faith in the French government that they would ensure these people got what they deserved. I felt that I could trust the government for quite some time-until I investigated the murders in this town and found out about your pet project. After hearing the truth about the murders and reading the Blackfish documents in your office, I realized that I was in a world that I still didn't understand, and found myself in a country run by hypocritical monsters and corrupt bureaucrats that are just as guilty as the Islamic State terrorists that shot up Paris!" - Emmett Mack to CIA director Arthur Holmes during the exposure of Operation Blackfish to the public, also revealing a key event in his life. (While punching a school bully in the liver during a fistfight after school) "Raggh! Raggh! Raggh! You laughing now?" - Emmett Mack to Joe "The Shed" Pena during a brawl "if this is the life you want, then for the love of humanity, LEAVE ME OUT OF IT!" - Emmett while angrily complaining about someone's "unenlightening" lifestyle Dialog with others “Who’s that?” '' ''"Diane, my maternal twin sister." - Jill Powell and Emmett as they strike up a brief conversation concerning the latter's maternal twin, Diane Mack. "Is she with you?" "I thought she was with you..." - Emmett Mack and Derek Westbrook as they argue over the loyalties of Diane Mack while fighting New Dawn operatives (Emmett and Diane are confronting a high school bully after school in a flashback to his high school years) "Go ahead, bitch. Say something funny. (whispers in his ear) Make me laugh." ''"You wanna know what's a joke to me, Joe? Your very existence! (Joe is speechless) You know what? Damn you, Joe. (To Joe's friends) Damn your friends and your cute-as-Barbie-doll girlfriends! Okay, I get it-our dad died in a terrorist attack last year! What's that to you? Does exploiting our loss somehow make you fools feel better? You wanted to ruin our lives, to make it worse in the wake of Dad's death? Well, guess what? CONGRATULATIONS! YOU GOT YOUR WISH! And on top of that, you're the worst douchebags in the history of human douchebags! (To Joe) And you! You wanna hear a joke? Okay, fine: you are the joke! (turns back to Joe's friends) You, your friends, your friends' girlfriends-you're all a joke! (Points to Joe's girlfriend Amelia) You're a scumbag, (points to Amelia's friend Taylor) you're a modern day Whore of Babylon Incarnate, (points to Joe's "enforcer" Tyrone) You keep threatening to break my bones, only to chicken out at the last minute like the wimp you are because of Principal Marsh! (points to Tyrone's girlfriend Carly) And you, Carly Parker, you're a worthless meatbag just like Amelia and Taylor! (points to Joe himself) And you, Joe, you're Satan incarnate! Now all of you-your dads all had easy, carefree lives that didn't have to care about much! My dad taught me MMA, served in the military, and taught me how to ''kill'' people! How many of you can say that? Where's my doggone medal? Also, I've done so much research into left-wing politics, I'm spinning in circles right now! How many of you can say that?!? (To Joe) And you, you and your friends harassing me all school year, telling me to kill myself-lemme tell you something: '''INSTEAD OF KILLING MYSELF, I SHOULD KILL ALL OF YOU!"'' (There is a moment of silence as Joe and his cronies all angrily stare daggers at an equally-pissed off Emmett and Diane) "I'd like to see you try, Wimp." "Watch me." (Emmett and Diane turn to walk away, but Tyrone Sanders blocks their path) "Where do you think you're going...punk?" (Emmett tries to push past Tyrone, who punches Emmett in the jaw) "Get back in there, punk bitch!" (When Emmett attempts to push past Tyrone again, he goes for another swing, but Emmett deflects the blow, then kicks him hard in the groin and smashes his head against a window. The other bullies look on, astounded that Emmett is much more trained than they thought in the world of hand-to-hand combat) "Fellas?" (As the bullies converge on the two siblings, Emmett proceeds to completely obliterate the other bullies with his martial arts skills, saving Joe for last. Joe, shocked and outraged at being bested in a fight, attacks Emmett, who punches him in the liver repeatedly during their fistfight) "Raggh! Raggh! Raggh! You laughing now?" (Emmett punches Joe as hard as he can in the liver once again and leaves Joe to die) - Joe "the Shed" Pena, Emmett Mack and Tyrone Sanders during a fistfight between Joe's army of cronies and the Mack siblings Category:Mysterious characters Category:Vigilantes Category:Characters of The Mack Coalition